Chinese students in Stockholm participated in a "Red Sorghum" flashmob at Galleria Department Store yesterday to "express joy and pride at Mo Yan winning the Nobel prize." One-hundred-eight people took part.
Mo is scheduled to give his speech at 5:30 pm Central European Time (12:30 am in China). You can watch it live on the Nobel Prize website.
Liu Xia has been under house arrest ever since her husband, Liu Xiaobo, won the Nobel Peace Prize two years ago. Her location isn’t exactly a secret though, so AP reporters staked out outside her house, then walked in while the guards were out to lunch. In her first public interview in 26 months, Liu said, “We... Read more »
If you’re in Beijing and like pub quizzes, the place to be this Sunday is the Hilton for the Beijinger’s 4th annual Super Quiz. (Disclosure: I run a quiz in Beijing, and will be presenting questions on Sunday for the third straight year.) Event organizers are asking interested parties to email or call ahead of time to reserve... Read more »
Qi Fang, police chief of Wusu, Xinjiang province, is the latest official to find himself embroiled in a sex scandal. He is accused of having an affair with two sisters from a cultural troupe, and using public funds to rent a luxury flat to meet them. The elder of the sisters was promoted to vice-captain... Read more »
On Tuesday, 134 Nobel laureates wrote to Xi Jinping asking him to release 2010 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, currently serving an 11-year sentence for subversion (etc.) after he coauthored “Charter 08,” a manifesto calling for greater freedoms in China. His wife is also currently under house arrest. The decision is probably not Xi Jinping’s... Read more »
A minor traffic scrape yesterday at 10:40 am in Shanghai led to vehicular homicide. Around the intersection of Keji and Yuanmen Road, after a van and a cab bumped into one another, the cabbie exited his car to confront the other driver. The guy in the van, who wanted none of it, stepped on the gas pedal. The van's front wheel ran over the cabbie, who was then dragged 10 meters under the carriage.
Albert Kahn is the best philanthropist you’ve likely never heard of. I hadn’t, anyway, until I was pointed to the Russian website History and Present via Reddit user Hanfresco a little earlier. The top post, published Tuesday, features a sampling of color photos taken in China by French photographer Stephane Passy in 1912, commissioned by — who else? — Albert Kahn.... Read more »
The students who protested on Tiananmen Square in June 1989 have gone on to lead lives as writers, teachers, businessmen, doctors, artists. Some have continued being activists. Some have spent most of their time in prison, before dying.
Chen Weiming became a gun-toting member of the Mujahideen army in Syria.
A man named Liu Shuangyun was arrested yesterday for starting a fire at an underwear factory in Shantou, Guangdong province that left 14 dead and one injured, according to Xinhua. The blaze lasted about half an hour, from 3:30 to 4 pm yesterday. AP reports that Liu, a 26-year-old migrant worker from Hunan province, was... Read more »
